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Becoming a Golden Hawk means more than just cheering on our (really good) varsity teams – it means being a student who cares about your community, who works hard in the classroom, and who takes advantage of all the learning opportunities that can happen outside the classroom, too.

Andrew Herman

Nov. 29, 2016

Associate Professor, Communication Studies

I analyze the infrastructural and institutional factors that support a "culture of innovation" within the Toronto and Waterloo Region’s digital technology ecosystem. I’m especially interested in what people mean by a "culture of innovation" along the "401 tech corridor." Is there a 401 tech corridor? What does it mean for Canada to be an "innovation nation?"

The actual everyday, lived relationship between cultural values, technological innovation, and entrepreneurship has not been sufficiently examined at the level of everyday work practices in a Canadian context. So understanding this relationship is essential in helping Canada is to succeed as an "innovation nation" in the tech sector.

In spite of the myth of heroic individual tech entrepreneurs and innovators – successful regional tech ecosystems with vibrant cultures of innovation do not emerge from entrepreneurial effort and private capital investment alone. Extensive and foresighted cooperation and collaboration between all public, private and non-profit actors is required for the ecosystem to grow and prosper.